Results: :
Metallic object penetration resulted in lower protein extractabilityfrom corneal tissue compared to controls. Increased depth ofinjury also negatively affected protein extractability comparedto controls. The changes in protein profiles were differentfor different metals (copper, iron and lead). Protein profilechanges were different for penetration to different depths anddependent on several other factors in a complex manner.

Conclusions: :
Exposure to metallic objects results predictable changesincorneal protein profile. The different duration and compositionof metallic object shows differences in protein profile. Thedepth and duration of exposure results in reproducible changessuggestingseverity of exposure can be predicted from cornealprotein profilechanges.